Chapter 252: Without Any Cost (16)

I silently stared at the head rolling on the ground.

The steel helmet was soon trampled by countless soldiers, and the head, covered in mud, disappeared from view. A one-legged imperial soldier was then slaughtered over Christina’s collapsed corpse. Countless spears jabbed forward. Corpses fell atop them.

The allied spearman unit instantly swallowed up the open space Christina had created with her greatsword.

Only then did it hit me.

Why was Christina here?

I quickly realized that in this life, I hadn’t intervened in Erast at all after saving Rubia. Christina must’ve been recruited by Rubia’s uncle after winning the tournament that I didn’t participate in.

Kirk Ray, the lord of Erast, was a man whose character was nothing but vile.

At least he had the selfish insight to recognize strength, and that’s how Chistina ended up dying her

e.

After losing his knight, loyal despite the abuse she endured, Kirk Ray retreated into the denser part of the formation in a panic. "Y-You useless ogre! I took you in, and you can’t even break through this?"

Even I would’ve found it tricky to break through this encirclement in my current state, yet he lashed out at the knight who had thrown herself into it.

Honor. Grace. Fortitude. Patience. Loyalty. If chivalry truly existed, then Christina had chosen the worst possible person to whom she could devote it.

I let out a dry laugh at the sheer waste of such extreme loyalty. "Get lost."

Amid a formation so dense that even my Fear skill couldn’t conquer everyone, I cut down dozens as I made my way toward the retreating lord of Erast. Driven by his obsession with survival, he was flailing, his flesh sliced and pierced by friendly swords as he crawled on the ground. Without me laying a finger on him, he was pushed and trampled, his arm twisted, and his leg broken. Using the Fear skill around us, I created a narrow space just for the two of us.

I swung my sheathed sword and broke his only good arm.

"Do you remember Rubia?" I asked.

A gurgling scream rang out. In some ways, he might even be considered a benefactor. It was because he pushed Rubia so mercilessly into a corner that a noble’s daughter, who once only read books, came up with the idea of raising undead soldiers from a grave. Though the number of times I suffered because of the hunters he sent made that a bitter pill to swallow.

"Ru... what?

Guh!

That bitch? She really escaped? That can’t be... I had contacts all the way to Yublam!"

With one move, I pierced his mouth. The sword aura shattered his teeth like broken glass, scattering them everywhere.

"

Guh! GAAHH!

"

The chaos around us was overwhelming. I didn’t even feel like dragging it out.

With a single kick, he was sent flying and, like someone burning the last of their life, he stood up on broken legs and shouted, "I-I am the lord of Erast! A-All units, p-protect me and retreat!"

Blood-foam sprayed from his mouth.

Thunk!

A spear flew in like lightning from somewhere and pierced him. The weapon had been thrown with such force that it punctured through both sides of his armor and heart, anchoring him to the ground as he convulsed once, then fell limp.

Kirk Ray's impaled corpse faced the sky and twitched like a frog stomped into the earth. The spear that shot like an arrow hadn’t come from outside.

"Any who flee inward, regardless of rank, are to be executed immediately! All lancers! Regroup and charge again!"

Each word was a scream that seemed to burst through the hearts of the soldiers, ordering a breakthrough on the front. That voice was powerful enough to erase Kirk Ray from memory.

I turned my skull.

Is this the cavalry that's been caught in Isaac’s second flanking maneuver?

The man who had shouted from atop his horse removed his helmet. Short silver-white hair fluttered in the bloody wind.

The man declared, "I am Oskahl! Before I am a count of the Empire, I am a lancer who will pierce through the enemy!"

Swaaash!

Oskahl's halberd cleaved through three allied soldiers in one sweep. It was as if the range of his attack had suddenly extended, leaving afterimages in the air, thanks to a flawless movement of pressing down with his inner leg while moving with his black horse. He was masterful in horsemanship.

Oskahl once again swung the halberd with full force, slicing through five spears in a single motion.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Pursue! Leave none alive!" Oskahl shouted.

Despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, the silver-haired man exuded such presence that it made it seem like the Empire was on the verge of victory. His pressure alone caused hundreds of allied spearmen to flinch and step back, opening up a real opportunity for a short charge from the calvary.

Oskahl? What luck for us to run into the Empire’s cavalry commander here.

He was less than thirty steps away. I glanced at the blue-tinged halberd.

Whoooosh!

Dark Sword Energy exploded wildly down my blade.

Sprint.

Fwoosh!

I leaped straight into the space Oskahl had opened up. With the aura compressed into my blade, I swung it directly at the lancer on horseback.

CLANG!

Oskahl barely blocked the strike, and his horse’s hind legs buckled. However, he gripped the horse with his legs, raised his halberd again, and added momentum as his black horse rose back up. As the halberd came crashing down from above, I planted my feet and swung my sword upward.

CLANGGG!

The halberd shattered, and blood burst from the lancer's wrinkled hands. He had gripped it so hard that even his lips bled. I leaped up at Oskahl as he bared his teeth, and plunged my sword into his chest. Then I pulled it out and severed his neck.

"T-The enemy commander is dead!" one of the guards hollered.

"L-Lord Oskahl!"

"

Uaaaahhhh

!"

Dozens of cavalrymen charged forward, screaming, but none came close to matching even a fraction of the man I’d just killed. I shattered two to three heavy lances at a time as I sliced off more heads. The imperial cavalry here had no chance of making it out alive.

Absorb.

I reached my hand toward Oskahl’s corpse, which still glowed faintly blue. Under the right circumstances, this man could’ve likely defeated ten thousand with only three hundred lancers.

Wuuuuung...

[Acquired skill: Mounted Spearmanship Lv. 1.]

[Acquired skill: Mounted Spearmanship Lv. 2.]

[Acquired skill: Mounted Spearmanship Lv. 3.]

[— You have learned Couched Lance.

— Bonus experience is granted when piercing more than two enemies at once.]

Next came the horseriding skills. I was faster than most horses, but horsemen were still useful in case I met a proper steed later on. Surprisingly, there was quite a lot to absorb.

It seems I’ve taken down someone truly exceptional.

[Acquired skill: Horseriding Lv. 4.]

[Acquired skill: Horseriding Lv. 5.]

[Perk acquired: Taming (B)!

— Your riding level has increased, and you have unlocked a new perk. You can now tame not only horses, but any creature recognized as a mount.

— Mounts you ride will now gain experience at an accelerated rate.]

With that strange final ability transferred, the light from Oskahl’s corpse faded.

The only remaining enemy commander should be Renaud Ridbaren. Stepping over riderless horses, I scanned the battlefield and spotted the imperial heavy infantry trying to flee from the rear.

Were those originally knights?

Around forty dismounted knights were trying to carve a bloody path while protecting someone bleeding from the leg. An arrow had struck his thigh during the chaos, making it impossible for him to ride. Unable to mount himself, he had ordered the surrounding knights to dismount and guard him instead. That was a stark contrast to Count Oskahl, who died in the saddle at the very end. If Oskahl had still been alive, perhaps the cavalry might’ve reconsidered who was worth following.

BOOM!

The dismounted knights completely lost their formation against the iron men. A knight with a longsword instead of a heavy lance was crushed underfoot by the steel behemoths. Some managed to manifest a faint aura at their sword tips, but even those blades couldn’t pierce the thick iron plating. Instead, they were struck by retaliatory fists and exploded into clouds of blood.

As two or three of his guards were getting killed at a time, the man at the center turned and shouted to someone beside him. His mouth flapped like a fish, too far away to read clearly.

Detect.

[Skill: Detection Lv. 7 activated.]

***

"Mage! It’s now or never! Please, use your power, even if it’s just to save me!"

A mage?

I couldn't tell how powerful they were. It was strange that he hadn’t acted even when the situation was dire. If he needed scrolls, mandalas, or reagents to cast, then he wasn’t that threatening... The man wore nothing but a light, fluttering robe, and even his staff was nowhere to be seen.

With such an outfit, he could be turned into minced meat any second now. The spears, swords, and hail of arrows flying around him barely missed, not because they bounced off shields or burned away in flame, but they simply curved away from him, ever so slightly, as we avoided him altogether.

"What are you doing?! You came all this way to protect me, didn’t you?" the robed man responded in a tone like he’d just heard a bad joke.

"

Hm

? No, not really. What good is it keeping someone like you alive? All you’d do is turn everything into shit."

"W-What did you say?! No, no, I must’ve misheard you."

"Suit yourself."

"As a marquis of the Empire, I command you to break the encirclement and save me now!"

"Didn’t I already tell you? What’s the point of saving someone like you? I can’t wipe out this army by myself... and now that I’ve finished observing, I’ll be on my way. We’ve spent some time together, so I kindly recommend you take your own life."

"A-Are you insane?! I’m an Inquisitor!"

Driven mad with fear and rage, Marquis Ridbaren swung his sword at the mage. Yet, the blade, which should have been aimed straight at the neck, twisted oddly and veered far off the mark. It wasn’t blocked or deflected; it was as if he’d simply swung in the wrong direction from the start.

"Good luck. Remember, if you think it’s too late for suicide, that’s when it’s really too late."

Is it just my imagination?

The robed man glanced briefly in my direction, then disappeared from the battlefield.

***

I sliced my sword through the armor of the final knight guarding Ridbaren, decapitating him.

SWOOSH!

Standing on the fallen man’s stomach, I aimed my blade downward.

Marquis Ridbaren trembled uncontrollably, unable to believe what was happening. "

Kugh

,

guuhhh...

"

I held the blade right beneath his chin. "Do you remember Rubia Ray?"

"Ru-uh? What? Rubia Ray..."

"The woman you handed over to the inquisition. Do you really not remember?"

His eyes, clouded by memory, grew even more unfocused. "I-I can’t be expected to remember every trivial matter... If you surrender, I’ll arrange a meeting! I swear on my name!"

He doesn't even remember the name of the woman whose life he ruined?

His expression showed no guilt or emotion. I just saw the indifference of someone who’d done it so often that the memories had faded. This kind of thing was routine to him.

I was speechless. Maybe a little torture would jog his memory, but not yet. Even if I was going to kill him, now wasn’t the time.

I still had more questions to ask. "Who was the man with you earlier? The one in the robe. Was he a mage? Tell me everything you know."

"H-He’s..."

Sssssh...

Suddenly, a jet-black dot rapidly transformed into the shape of a snake at the back of Ridbaren’s neck.